Letting go
by Sealite
Summary: Holly Mitchell lost her way and blames herself for her father's death. The demon responsible for the event is following her and she suspects that he's more than the average demon.
1. Chapter 1

**-Letting go chapter 1-**

**I DON'T OWN CHARMED.**

Golden Gate Park was bustling as always. Couples strolled hand in hand and children laughed and played but it didn't seem to faze a young girl sitting on a bench overlooking a great stretch of grass. The 18 year old witch, Holly Mitchell, sat soundly, her sad eyes staring blankly ahead at seemingly nothing. Single drops of tears rolled gently down her rosy cheeks as she tried to expel the awful memory from her mind but it seemed impossible.

***  
She awoke, her eyes widening in terror as she felt the ropes chaffing her wrists, her mouth dry from the cloth that gagged her, a method to prevent her from calling for help.

A demon stared at her from across the room, his red robes resembling his fiery eyes. "Awake at last I see. Your father will be very pleased,"

The red robed demon smirked before opening a door to reveal Henry Mitchell, Holly's father.  
An aged Henry stood up from the floor and straightened his favourite leather jacket. Even the jacket had been through the mill just like its owner. Henry tried furiously to get out but a red crystal cage was blocking him. "Holly!" he yelled for his daughter, waiting for an answer to see if she was okay.

Holly furiously tried to call out to her father but the cloth made speaking quite difficult. She squinted trying to call upon her newly acquired telekinetic ability but failed time after time. She could access it quite easily through her hands but when she had to channel the power through her eyes, it sometimes seemed impossible. She was powerless.

The demon held out his hand and in a flash of red light an athame with a blood thirsty blade appeared in his open palm. Tightening his grip around the hilt of the athame, the Demon kicked one of the red crystals away, deactivating the cage that held Henry prisoner.

"Paige!" Henry cried, desperately hoping his wife could hear his call.

The demon raised his arm, the athame's blade glistened in the light, it was practically begging for blood. He lowered the blade in a slashing motion and stabbed Henry in the stomach. Henry grunted as the blade pierced his skin; he felt sick as the demon rammed the blade deeper. Blood began to drip from the wound and even from Henry cracked lips.

Holly's face was contorted in fear as she managed to lift herself up onto her knees. She cried for her father again as she saw all life being drained from her father's eyes. She was filled with hope as glistening blue orbs appeared in the room; she knew it was her mother.

A middle aged Paige glanced at her tied-up daughter before seeing her injured husband standing beside the athame wielding demon. The witchlighter stormed towards her husband, determined to save him.

Henry fell to his knees as he saw Paige rushing towards him. He knew his life was at an end, there was nothing she could do to save him but he could save her. He leaned forward grabbing the crystal that deactivated the cage and pulled it closer, trapping not only himself but the demon in the cage as well.

"Henry, what are you doing?!" Paige shrieked.

"Run..." Henry sputtered weakly, as he fell to the ground, breathing his last breath.

***

Holly lifted her head; the terror of that night still fresh in her mind. How could she ever forgive herself? All she could think about was how her powers had let her down, how they had refused to work at the moment she needed them. If only she was as powerful as her mother or aunts, she could have saved him. She could have spared her family the pain of losing Henry. Four months had passed since his death and her siblings and her mother were slowly healing but she remained broken...lost.

She lifted herself up from the bench and began walking down the pathway towards the street. She was almost at the street when she glanced over her shoulder; she had this nagging feeling that something or someone was following her. After carefully scanning the area she shrugged the feeling off and continued on her way gaining speed with every step.  
She turned around again trying to find something, anything, to keep her from thinking she was going crazy. She turned her head back but gasped as she was grabbed by the shoulder.

Holly turned to see who grabbed her and breathed relieved. "Julie..."

"Astral Julie actually, I used a spell." Julie said proudly. She glanced at her sister worriedly, seeing that she had been crying. "Please come home."

"I can't," Holly responded, tears forming in her eyes. "There are just too many bad memories there; I can't keep it all out of my head."

Julie had always been the more empathic twin, she always knew how to take care of her sister and how to talk to her. She grabbed hold of her sister's arms. "Hey, listen to me," She said forcing Holly to look into her eyes. "None of this is your fault; you would've helped if you could. Everything happens for a reason, if it was dad's time to die then we couldn't have done anything to save him."

Holly brushed her tears away with the palm of her hand as Julie pulled her into her embrace. "I just want him back, Jules."

"Shh…I know, sweetie." Julie said, trying to calm her sister down. "Come on, let's get you home."

Holly went without a fight this time, as she and her sister walked slowly down the path, Holly sobbing on Julie's shoulder.

xxx

When they arrived at home, Julie walked in with Holly before disappearing in a red light, her astral spirit returning to her body.

"Where have you been?!" Paige demanded.

"Out…I am eighteen now. I can go where I want." Holly snapped.

Since Henry's death, the family ties had been frail as everyone was grieving. Where this event should have brought them closer together, it drove them further apart to the point where every discussion developed into a fight. Regular ol' family movie nights were something of the past as they couldn't be in the same room together for five minutes without war of the words ensuing.

Paige stared at her daughter, shocked. _Eighteen years old?_ The witchlighter finally realized that she had forgotten her daughters' birthday.

Holly rolled her eyes at her mother before storming up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. She rushed into her room and slammed the door behind her.

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**

**Big thanks goes to Rory (The matriarch) for editing this chapter. You're the best**


	2. Chapter 2

Holly struggled furiously against the restraints that were holding her prisoner. She tried to push the gag from her mouth with her tongue but it was too tight. She tried her best to scream but no sound would emerge, she could only taste the salty aftertaste of the streams of tears that rolled over her cheeks and into her month. Pure anguish washed over her features as the red cloaked demon rammed his glistening athame into her father's abdomen...

Holly screamed as she bolted up in her bed, panting heavily as beads of sweat trickled down her face. Her eyes wildly searched the room before she buried her face in her hands, sobbing. She wished that she could expel this awful memory from her mind. Witnessing her father's death was hard enough but reliving it every night for the last couple of months was torture.

Holly pushed off her covers and stood up from her bed and went to the bathroom. She thrust out her hand and telekinetically opened the bathroom door. For the past couple of days she had been using her magic for menial chores. Holly felt after everything magic had cost her; the cosmos had no right to punish her for using her magic for personal gain.

She flicked on the light switch and moved towards the wash basin. She rested her hands on the counter, her head lowered. She finally raised her head and shook her light tresses from her damp face as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked horrible. Her hair was disheveled, dried mucus rested beneath her nostrils and her eyes were puffy and red. She stared at herself with great sorrow before she suddenly became enraged and unintentionally smashed the mirror with her telekinesis.

The mirror shattered as Holly stared at the broken pieces of glass, seeing bits and pieces of her reflection in the remains. She stared angrily at the broken pieces. The shattered glass was pretty much a reflection of her life, of her family. They were broken like glass and even though humans are able to heal within time, Holly knew she'd never be healed.

She turned away from the broken mirror and moved over to the shower and turned the faucet, allowing hot water to flow from the shower head. After getting undressed, she stepped into the shower allowing the water to soak her. She wished she could wash away the pain but she knew it was impossible.

xxx

Paige and Henry jr. were going about their tasks in the kitchen in silence. Paige continued to spread some butter on her toast and Henry ate his cereal as Holly entered the kitchen now clad in her jeans and a blue shirt. Her mother and brother looked up for a split second but then returned to what they were doing.

Holly dragged herself over to the kitchen table and sat down before pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

Henry looked at her and courageously asked, "Me and some friends are going to see a movie tonight, do you want to come?"

Holly frowned angrily as she slammed the cereal box down on the table mid-pour. "You want to go and see a movie after everything that has happened?"

"Holly, please," Henry pleaded to his sister. "It's been four months." He wasn't over his father's death either but he knew Henry wouldn't want them mourning him forever and not to move forward with their lives. He knew his sister was hurting and that the whole tragedy was harder on her than it was on him or Julie but he knew he had to try to find a way to help her, to cheer her up.

"Four months?" Holly said through gritted teeth. "Yeah and I have been reliving it, you know, our father's death every night for the last four months."

Holly pushed her bowl away in disgust and fled from the kitchen. Paige gave Henry a sympathetic glance, knowing that her son was simply trying to reach out to his sister. Henry blankly stared after his sister not knowing what he could possibly do or say to make everything better.

Holly continued to storm down the second floor hallway, but she didn't charge for her own room, instead she went to the left, towards her parents' bedroom. She felt safe there, comforted, as if Henry's spirit was still in there.

She moved into the room, closing the door behind her and moving towards her parents' double bed. It was neatly made with the golden satin throw pillows, all neatly placed upon the brown bed cover. This bed had stayed this way since the day her father died. She sat down on the side on which Henry always slept. On the bedside table stood a picture of her, her sister, brother and her father, laughing happily. It was from their summer at the lake, it was their first vacation and their last as a family.

Holly delicately picked up the photo frame and cradled it in her hand. Sorrow filled her but rage soon followed as she hurled the photo frame across the room, screaming, "How could you leave me?!" The glass of the frame shattered as it hit the wall. Holly began to bawl as she slid down from the bed to the wooden floor, her back still against the bed.

Paige stormed into the room, her heart sank as she saw her daughter sobbing on the floor. "Honey..." she whispered, tears welling in her eyes too. She hadn't set foot in her own bedroom since that fateful night, she just couldn't face going to her and Henry's bed alone. She had been sleeping on the couch downstairs, afraid to face the nightmares that would invade her mind if she were to sleep in her own bed. But the nightmares had followed her, no matter where she slept.

Paige rushed to her daughter's side, lowering herself to the floor next to Holly. "Please don't cry..." she pleaded pulling her daughter into her brittle arms. For the first time in months, Holly allowed her mother to comfort her.

"I…can't…stop…thinking...about him…" Holly stammered, panting heavily, trying to catch a breath.

Paige knew she had to stay strong, it wouldn't help matters if she broke down as well. She needed to stay strong for her daughter. "Shh...We are going to get through this, we're strong witches and we can do this, honey."

Holly began to calm down, her face filled with realization. "Magic," she whispered.

"What?" Paige asked, not hearing what her daughter was whispering.

Holly didn't answer her mother's question. She broke free from her embrace and left the room in a hurry, heading to their attic.


End file.
